Russian Darknet Plans $146 Million ICO

A darknet marketplace based out of Russia is planning to run its ICO to raise $146 million in a very blatant and illegal effort to scale out its operations. 

The goal of the token sale is to help the Hydra marketplace roll out an upgraded model for their business. They would like it to be anonymized and allow for the trading of illicit substances at scale. The current model Hydra runs on has the buyer and seller dropping off the goods in public spaces, where they never actually meet each other in person. A courier acts as middleman to double the layer of anonymity. 

With the raised funds, Hydra would be able to create their Eternos network, which would consist of encrypted messaging services, privacy-focused browser, and even automated dispute resolution. Basically, all the hallmarks of an online marketplace, but anonymous (and illegal). 

Understanding Dark Crypto

As the name would suggest, the darknet is really where the “darker” side of the crypto world comes out. Not everyone is looking to democratize free speech and created decentralized networks for the betterment of the financial system. No, there are also those who lean towards a more chaotic (they might say “libertarian”) point of view. 

It should be noted that this darknet would be completely illegal and be complete circumvention of current securities laws, unlike many of the current ICOs which fit in more of a grey area. Right now, the investment memorandum is viewable through the Tor browser and pitches blocks of 100 tokens which are valued at $100 per token. 

For those who worry about the dangers of cryptocurrency, this is the actual threat. Bitcoin is far harder to facilitate these trades with, and even privacy coins like Zcash are trying to find a way to avoid being complicit in illegal transactions. 

A Bold Prediction

Silk Road was shut in October 2013 for facilitating the sale of weapons, malware, and drugs. It was very similar to the Hydra network, but eventually, its CEO, Ross Ulbricht, was caught and given a life sentence. 

Also known as “the Dread Pirate Roberts”, he has recently predicted that Bitcoin will hit $100K by the end of 2020. This is just one more in a long list of predictions about the future of Bitcoin and its price. What makes it different is the fat that ulbricht is essentially serving tie becuase of his strong believf in the coin. To clarify, it isn’t that he believed in Bitcoin that got him jailed, it’s that he trusted in the privacy-based cryptocurrency and it was used to track him down.